Issue Monday 22 October 2018

Created by grade 6 students of Benalla P-12 College, Northern Bay College in Corio/Norlane and grades 5/6 students of Altona North Primary.

KIDS DEMAND CHANGE!Today, more than 100 twelve-year-old children from across Victo-ria delivered the ‘Kids Manifesto’ onstage at the Arts Centre, Mel-bourne.

Children from Benalla P-12 College, Al-tona North Primary School and Northern Bay College in Corio/Norlane joined to-gether to call out the change they want to see for the future, in front of an audience of politicians, policy-makers, educators, families and friends.

The inaugural event opened by Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People, Ms Liana Buchanan during Chil-dren’s Week highlighted Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that children have a right to be heard and their views and opinions respected.

The Kids Manifesto was received by members of parliament with a promise to take the children’s words back to politi-cians making decisions on behalf of com-munities.

The team manifestos are printed here in this newspaper and were also creatively presented onstage to a live audience us-ing movement, music, and visuals.

The children gathering for the Kids Man-ifesto have spent the past six months be-coming local change-makers through the Kids Thrive programs ‘Kids as Catalyst’ and ‘KiCArts’.

In these programs the children begin community partnerships with organisa-tions and individuals, creating volunteer projects on issues that range from the environment and the elderly, to cultural diversity and animals.

In ‘Kids as Catalyst’ the children have created community projects with a local community organisation such as making and providing care packs for women flee-ing family violence, making and install-ing habitat boxes for endangered species or making special events for their local elders.

In ‘KiCArts’ children have co-created and co-delivered awareness-raising arts events with a community organisation to address local issues such as creating a film / performance to highlight the need to address isolation for their elders, or a photographic installation to encourage people to keep their dogs onlead in vul-nerable bird nesting areas.

Children are finding amazing ways to

strengthen the relationships they have with their schools and their wider com-munities by taking action locally.

Today some of the children left home in the dark. They traveled by bus and train to join state teams to focus on a bigger vision, looking beyond their local com-munities to the wider world. The sense of determination and cooperation in the room was awesome showing in their own words that ‘kids can be small and still make a big difference in the world.’

In this Kids Manifesto you can read (and feel) how much children care and want to be involved in finding solutions to com-munity issues. Please remember to make space for children to not only have a say but to have an active role in making com-munities healthier and happier for all. Kids are amazing people. Just ask them!

A creative partnership with:

Supported by :

A safe world is a calm world. Free from Fear. Free from Shame. Trust pride and love.

We are asking you, the lead-ers of our community, not to FIGHT about things that could be solved by talking calmly.

We are asking you to help stop violence against wom-en. Physical violence. Verbal violence. RESPECT.

We are asking you, the leaders of our communi-ty to make sure boys and girls, men and women have

EQUAL opportunities to do activities in the HOUSE, in SPORTS and BEYOND.

We are asking you, the leaders of our commu-nity, to find and fund a well-being centre for 10-18 year olds to help them with issues they need to keep private. It needs to be well-advertised, accessible to this age group - and it needs to be a place with no judg-ment, no backlash and private.

TWEENS MAKE THE WORLD SAFE & COMFORTABLE FOR GIRLS, WOMEN & EVERYONE

By Girls & Women

If we are willing to save all animals, the animals would be healthy, happy and have homes, through people and community trust and sup-port.

We ask you to introduce ANICARE for all ani-mals within the next 12 months to begin to make our vision of healthy, happy animals a reality.

ANICARE, like Medi-care, will provide the op-portunity for all animals to have access to health, care and happy homes.

ARE YOU WILLING TO SAVE THEM?By Animals 1

All abilities as one, perfect-ly imperfect, feeling confi-dent and included through increased access to bonding activities.

We need every sport-ing arena in Victoria to be accessible to all by 2020 so that every-one can achieve their hopes, dreams and goals through teamwork and determination.

ALL ABILITIES

AS 1!By Disability 2

By 2019 we want to make the blue earth shine. by 2019 we want to make lit-tering a crime.By 2019 our roads will be clean. We can do it we can work as a team.By 2019 there will be no pol-lution.By 2019 there will be a solu-tion.Solar panels, Water tanks, Wind turbines.By 2019... Do we have enough time?

No littering - harsher laws for littering and introduce the “Environ-mental Warrior Award” to acknowledge a hard working Australian who dedicates their time to protecting the environ-ment.

GREEN, CLEAN & PRISTINE BY 2019!

By Environment

Boys and men are human beings.

We don’t want to be trapped in a box of expectation.

We want to be able to ex-press our feelings and not be judged for it.

We want to be free to have

long hair, do yoga, drink tea, be a midwife or wear skirts if we want to.

Help us get out of the box!

We ask the Government to create a national men-tal health week for boys, starting in early 2019!

BOYS WANT TO GET OUT OF THE BOX OF EXPECTATION!BOYS HAVE FEELINGS TOO

By Boys & Men

Our dream is of a democrat-ic future with new opportu-nities for all cultures. For ev-eryone to have a say and all stories to be heard.

We are all important as each other and you know that is the important thing!

Together we want to create a cultural gath-ering place. We want to include different cul-tural plants, signs that we all understand and a DJ stage that’s open for everyone. We want cul-tural radio stations that play different cultural songs, and news reports from all around the world. We want a com-munity kitchen where all food is welcome.

And we want it now!

EVERYONE’S WELCOME IN AUSTRALIA & EVERYONE’S STORIES ARE

HEARDBy Cultural Diversity 2

We want equal access.We want equal rights.We want equal lives.We want equal opportuni-ties.We want more sports teams.We want inclusion.

We want to be visible.We demand equality.

We want the building codes to be changed so that all buildings must be accessible for all dis-abilities.

EQUALITY FOR ALL!! DISABLED & ABLED

By Disability 1

What we want is a world that’s animal friendly with food, water and habitat for ALL animals.

Make new national parks by 2019.

THE WORLD AS A SAFE HAVEN

FOR ALL ANIMALS

By Animals 2

That our homes, schools, communities include older people. In sharing stories, activities and teaching what they know.

We will invite our elders because they will bring knowledge and wisdom in to all our schools and our lives.

We want them to feel in-cluded and important.

ALL SCHOOLS

INVITE ELDERS

INTO THEIR SCHOOL

By Elderly 2

A thousand different faces, a million different stories - no bystanders - together we rise up for shared power. Instead of tears, smiles.

Instead of borders, open.Instead of violence, kind-ness.Instead of abuse, respect.Instead of fear, learning.Instead of danger, help.Because we’re all human.

By 2022, all Australian companies must have 25% of their jobs going to non-white people.

By 2030, all Australian companies must have 50% of their jobs going to non-white people.

THE YOUNG PEOPLE DEMAND: IT’S TIME TO FACE A NEW WORLD

By Cultural Diversity 1

“I discovered that I can do things I didn’t think I can do. And that kids can do what parents do.”

“Now I know I am a capable person and I can achieve things I feel passionate

about.”

Just like the rest of us, the el-derly are people who need to be happy, healthy and alive!

We want you to fund the Elderly Week pro-gram and make it avail-able to communities in Victoria.

ELDERS: HAPPY,

HEALTHY & ALIVE!

(WE’RE IN KIDS THRIVE!)

By Elderly 1

OUR AWESOME CONTRIBUTORSAhlam AbushhewaAlia HeepsAna Sophia DimaanoAraya MellAshton HopkinsAyman JauharBailey AshtonBelinda GroenBenny BarakaBilly HernandezBrock InceCampbell DruryCharlie BurfieldChloe BarryChloey MenziesChristian LopezCjay MianoCloud VillaminCody Marks

Daniel O’DonnellDecember PawDemi KeayEva StrikFaith FaronFaith LimGeorge KarageorgiouGrace CooneyGwen SawHailie MaddoxIlijana TodovaImogen BiddleJack AndersonJack BrockettJackson YoungJacob SeatonJacob VesseyJamie TarrJana Saoud

Jemma HausnerJess PucheJess TraitJett BuntineJoshua ScottJye Pastuszka-McmahonKaylah DevlinKiara McLeodKiara TaylorKyan MurrayLaith AliLauren McDonaldLily NurdagLincoln TerryLucas BrilliLwe Wah ‘K PawManel TarafMarten BerrymanMatilda Vorkoff

Meredith KatMia BealeMichael MilanoMontana HedgerMontell MacfarlaneNae Koe RocketNatica MarshallNikkera ThorpeNoah WhillanceNyaliep MalowOakley McCullochPotter PromwongRachael FowlesRecce LeechRiley AntoniniRiley KingRoqya HusseiniRyley ElySalama Jakub

Shadia AbdelrahmanShaquille HanimanSophie SesarStevie NadolskiTaisha HoseTammanie RobinsonTaneah SymesTarni CrockerTash WilsonTasha GilsonThomas VanderpolTo Mar HserTrinity WagnerTylah EverettVictoria CoultoukisZack Jervies

TEAM FOR KIDS

MANIFESTOKids Thrive Team on the groundAlison Bradfield, Andrea Rieniets, Dr Andrea Lemon, George Bradshaw Karen Trentini, Jeremy Watson, Sarah Mathers, Sue Beale

Creative FacilitatorsAlex Walker, Anna Manuel, Carla Gottgens, Deborah SonenbergKate Kantor, Katherine Branch, Kim Santos, Sieglinde Hopkins,Jennie Swain, Jo Grimsey,Jo Trevathan

Media Team Alia Vryens, Hoang Tran Nguyen, Meredith O’Shea

Event DesignAlex Walker, Andrea Lemon,Andrea Rieniets, FromHereOn,Jeremy Watson, Katherine Branch

PartnersJeremy Vincent – Arts Centre Sandy Shaw – Newsboys Foundation Scott McLean - Arts Centre

JOIN USwww.kidsthrive.org.au

facebook.com/kidsthrivetwitter – kids_thrive

instagram – kids_thrive

ABOUT KIDS THRIVEKids Thrive is Victoria’s leading arts and commu-nity development organi-sation nurturing child-led social change. We sup-port children to be brave and creative. We partner artists with specialists in children’s education,

health, welfare and social justice to create ground- breaking programs pro-moting child-led change, and cultivating positive celebrations of diversi-ty in schools and other child-friendly locations.

Children taking a lead in identifying community strengths and finding ways to increase those strengths

through their own actions.

Children identifying com-munity problems

and finding solutions and actions they can take – with or without the support of adults.

Children taking life - trans-forming ideas and skills back into their homes and communities, leading their adults by example into new ways of being in the world.

WHAT IS CHILD-LED CHANGE?Kids Thrive defines child-led change as: